The sound of a melodious tune could be heard echoing throughout the surrounding area as Suika blew her seashell, attracting the villagers' attention as all heads turned towards the village's main bridge where they could see a cart rolling up to.

"People have waged wars over pepper. That's how fundamental food is to civilization." Senku began as the villagers made their way towards where your group was. "I'm going to colonize this village with the scientific food that is ramen."

"You look like the villain." Kohaku sweat-dropped at the gleeful expression filled with maliciousness on the scientist's face while you just giggled, used to it by now.

As a crowd began to gather in front of the cart, Senku turned to you with his signature smirk – the corners of his lips quirked with confidence. "It's time to win these villagers over to the Kingdom of Science, my assistant."

(E/C) eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of being able to cook for so many people, something you have always dreamed of. You returned your green-haired friend's grin with one of your own, stretched so wide that it reached the corners of your eyes.

"You can count on me, Senku!" You exclaimed and got to work.

Soon, a bunch of villagers was gathered around the cart and watched with eagerness as you prepared the noodles, the delicious aroma of the broth invading their noses, and making their mouths watered.

Meanwhile, a certain scientist was watching as you worked, his red eyes softening with fondness and pride at the sight of the big smile painting your lips. In a rare moment, he allowed the corners of his lips to curl into the barest hint of a gentle smile.

For once, he gave in to sentimentality and thought to himself, you were truly the best assistant that any scientist could ask for but deeper than that, he was glad that you stuck around the weird and nerdy science kid when no else would.

'With the gourmet dish of science...' You thought to yourself as you placed the last bowl of ramen besides the rest that you had prepared, raising a hand to wipe away the sweat dripping down the side of your face. 'We can find enough manpower to make steel.'

As a grin slowly crept its way up to your lips, you turned to the crowd of anticipated villagers with a bowl of ramen ready to serve its guests and exclaimed in a loud voice, "One foxtail millet ramen!"

"It's so chewy! This is amazing!" Garen cried around a mouthful of ramen and practically inhaled the noodles, wanting more of this delicious dish.

Spurred on by the glutton of their village, the rest of the villagers began to dig into their bowls of ramen, and soon, just like everyone else who already had a taste of this dish, they couldn't stop eating as the aroma of ramen danced on their taste buds and introduced them to a whole new world of food that they never knew before.

"Are you the one who made this tasty stuff? Your name's Senku-kun? What kind of girls do you like?"

Upon hearing that, your head whipped in the direction of the lilting voice which belonged to a dark-haired girl that had struck up a conversation with the scientist who had come to assist you.

Your mouth tugged down into a frown at the clear interest on her face, a light blush dusting the apples of her cheeks as she waited for the green-haired teen's reply. Meanwhile, Senku paid no mind to the girl and responded without so much as sparing her a glance. "A girl who can pump a tone of oxygen into the furnace."

Releasing a sigh of relief that you didn't realize you had been holding in, you turned your attention back to preparing more bowls of ramen while thanking the lucky stars that the scientist was a person of logic and not feelings.

Although, you couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not as you refilled a villager's bowl with more ramen broth.

"He's way too blunt," Kohaku, on the other hand, disapproved of the green-haired teen's straightforwardness and narrowed her eyes at the male as she asked, "You never make small tall or anything, do you, Senku?"

You shook your head in exasperated fondness when Senku shrugged in response to the blonde's scolding, not caring at all as he focused on what he was doing.

"Here you go!"

You raised your head at the sound of Suika's voice and was greeted with the sight of the young girl running about as she served bowl after bowl of ramen to the villager, unable to catch a break. "I'm losing track of who I've served!"

You giggled at how adorable she was but shifted your gaze to Kohaku when she said, "The response is amazing. Everyone's coming over."

At the satisfied smile on the blonde's face, as she watched her village enjoy their ramen, both you and Senku exchanged high fives with each other at the success of Operation Ramen (you just thought of that name on the spot).

"No problem," Senku chuckled before a dark look falling over his face, red orbs glimmered with malicious glee. "I'll just work them to death in proportion to however much they ate."

"You really do make sketchy faces." Kohaku sweat-dropped at the scientist's dark expression while you turned your focus back to the cart when a villager called out for another bowl of ramen. "Coming up!"

The next few minutes were spent preparing and serving more ramen as the villagers couldn't get enough of it when the peaceful routine was disturbed by an unfamiliar voice.

"Ah, this is making me thirsty for a drink. Like, say, cola."

Both you and Senku paused in what you were doing upon hearing that, a certain word in the sentence having caught both your attention.

"Cola?" You muttered beneath your breath in slight confusion, your eyes widening as realization dawned upon you.

Senku, on the other hand, said nothing as he remained motionless, the corners of his lips turning downwards into a deep frown with each passing second.

"Senku, (Name), is he with you?" Kohaku questioned as she stared at the newcomer, with bi-colored hair – black and white split evenly down the middle – and wearing a purple robe, who was leaning against a large boulder while enjoying a bowl of ramen.

"No," The scientist replied in a quiet voice as he placed his chopsticks down and without needing to be told, the blonde sprung into action.

"Kinro, Ginro, stop squabbling for a moment," Kohaku called out to the two brothers who were still arguing over ramen as she approached them.

"What? What are—" Kinro answered and turned to look at the blonde but stopped mid-sentence and was on red alert, Ginro doing the same, when he noticed how her head was hanging down and immediately knew that something was not right.

"I'll get to the point," Kohaku began as she raised her head, blue eyes glinting for a fight. "Enemies."

In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the stranger with the sharp ends of their weapons aimed at his head as they cornered him, cutting off all possible escape routes.

"Answer truthfully, or I'll slit your throat here and now," Kohaku growled, the tone of her voice suggesting that she wouldn't hesitate to carry out her threat if the guy didn't listen to her words. "Are you one of the long-haired man's underlings?"

Under normal circumstances, any person would be scared to death in this type of situation, especially when weapons were being pointed at them. However, the stranger didn't even react at all, painting the picture of calmness as a corner of his lips pulled up into a smirk.

"Hey, I wouldn't mind being taken out by a cute girl like you, but I think you have me confused for someone else. I don't know anything about a long-haired man." The figure started in a teasing voice before releasing a small sigh and lifting his head to meet Senku in the eyes, finally revealing his face. "I've been by myself ever since I'm un-petrified."

"I thought I'd seen your face somewhere," Senku responded with a small smirk, his arms folded casually.

"You're Asagiri Gen!" You chimed in, eyes lighting up with recognition.

"Are you acquainted?" Kohaku asked as she glanced over her shoulders at the two of you with a slight tilt of her head, her posture still tensed with alert.

"No, not one bit. He's a magician who used to write trashy psychology books." Senku explained offhandedly.

Gen raised a brow, his mouth curling up into a tight smile as he responded, "You've read my work? I'm so happy. Calling it 'trashy' hurts though. Call me a mentalist."

Then, he turned his attention to the bowl of ramen in his hand and said, "Look, I'll apologize for taking the ramen, so would you please lower your weapons? I'm so scared, my arms and legs are trembling. I might spill this delicious ramen."

"I-I'll hold on to it for you!" Ginro was quick to fall for the mentalist's words as he threw his spear to the side and reached for the bowl with grabby hands, drooling at the thought of being able to have a taste for himself.

'He's full of crap.' You couldn't help but think to yourself as you saw right through Gen's words, noting how his words were meant to convey how afraid he was yet his posture was the epitome of calmness.

The teen continued on with his charade, playing the sympathy card as he went on with his story. "I was out looking for food by myself when, surprise, the nostalgic scent of ramen hit me, and I wandered over."

'This man isn't the least bit terrified.' Your frown deepened when you noticed how relaxed said person was despite being surrounded by weapons whose owners wouldn't hesitate to strike at a moment's notice. 'And the words he weaves with his mouth carry as little weight as a feather.'

You were startled out of your thoughts when Senku let out a chuckle next to you, saying, "Sure, whatever. I'll take your word for it."

"Senku?" You muttered, furrowing your brows in confusion at his words as you tried to figure out where he was going with this.

There was a cunning look in those gleaming ruby reds as Senku unfolded his arms and placed them on his hips, a smirk on his lips. "Either way, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Everyone who's had ramen has work to do."

You felt a chill going down your spine at your friend's challenging look directed at Gen who returned the stare with an unwavering gaze, a brow raised in question. You could sense that the routine as you knew it was going to change now that one Asagiri Gen had entered the picture.

Time skipped

The air was filled with screams of pain as Senku kept to his words and had all those who ate ramen, including Gen, be put to work in taking turns to pump oxygen into the furnace to maintain the temperature needed to turn iron sand into iron.

"We upgraded the blowing function!" Chrome exclaimed with clenched fists. "Iron mill furnace, level two!"

"I think this'll work if we take turns!" Kohaku added as she took over another villager who immediately fell onto the ground out of exhaustion having been worked to the bones.

You winced as she landed with a "thud" and just laid there, unmoving, and you felt bad for her, knowing exactly what it was like since you were in the same shoes just a few hours ago. At the thought of your near death, you shuddered at having to go through their hellish experience again but at least now that with more people, it wouldn't be as bad or so you tell yourself.

"Asagiri Gen," Your gaze shifted over to said person when you heard Senku calling his name, tilting your head to one side as you wondered what the scientist could possibly want from the other male. "How are Taiju and Yuzuriha doing?"

You perked up with interest upon hearing the names of your other friends and walked over to the duo out of curiosity.

Gen let out a pitiful whimper before replying, "Oh, I see. You thought you could get me to fess up while I'm busting my ass. You have guts, pulling tricks like that on a mentalist."

There was a moment of silence as Gen stopped his pumping while Senku stared at his back with a small frown, his face lacking his usual cocky expression. You, on the other hand, remained silent as your gaze jumped back and forth between the two, a feeling of uneasiness rising in you.

Then, Gen continued. "Don't worry, though. Taiju-chan's got an especially bottomless supply of strength. You know, don't you, Senku-chan?"

At his last sentence, Gen finally revealed his true self as he turned to Senku with a spine-chilling grin on his face, light blue eyes darkening with a manic glint. At that moment, you felt your entire freezing up, unable to move a single muscle as the familiar feeling of fear that you had felt when in Tsukasa's presence returned, your flight instincts screaming for you to run, to run as far as you could until you felt safe again.

Feeling the need to seek comfort, you shuffled closer until you were hidden behind the scientist's frame. Senku, who noticed your discomfort when he felt your stiff body pressing up against his, sought your hand out and intertwined both your fingers, running his thumb soothingly over the back of your hand in a silent act of comfort.

A fond smile tugged at the corners of your lips at the gesture and you squeezed the teen's hand to show your gratefulness.

"He's definitely with the long-haired man." Kohaku, who overheard what the mentalist said, ran over with one of her daggers and asked, "Should I kill him?"

"Hold it, idiot," Senku replied before shifting his attention to Gen with a small smirk. "Asagiri Gen. You ten billion percent knew I was trying to make you talk. Why did you suddenly decide to admit that you're with Tsukasa?"

Gen didn't reply straight away with his back facing the green-haired scientist. Then, he turned around; light blue eyes glancing at you for a second which you felt, causing your body to stiffen with tenseness.

Although, you relaxed again when Senku tightened his arms around you, noticing your discomfort and you were thankful that he was still holding onto you despite having calmed down.

The burning stare left just as quickly as it had appeared, and you released a small sigh of relief. The frightening grin from before was replaced with one of mystery as the mentalist said, "The tides have turned now that I've seen this."

Gen didn't say anything more after that and everyone returned to the original task at hand, but there was tension in the air that lasted throughout the rest of the evening and into the following morning.

***

Thanks to the extra helping hands and working non-stopped throughout the whole night, the iron sands were finally melted and all eyes were trained on the scientist as he removed the pot filled with hot liquid and poured it into a wood mold for it to set.

You heard a sharp inhale coming from your right and your head turned towards the noise, noticing the look of surprised awe on Gen's face. At that moment, you thought back to this morning where, away from prying eyes and ears, the mentalist had revealed to both you and Senku that he was actually sent here by Tsukasa.

"My job is to confirm that both of you are dead. 'Tsukasa, Senku and (Name) are alive.' With that, you would be done. That was the plan. But if you complete your iron weapons, there's no telling who will win."

With what happened yesterday, you became wary of Asagiri Gen and now, after learning about his real motive for being here, it was just one more reason to never trust the guy. However, as you watched those light blue eyes widened, things might just change.

"Finally!" Chrome let out a loud cry as he held up the iron bar in the air, both Suika and Kohaku mirroring the brunette's looks of wonder. "Here we go!"

You felt your lips curling into a warm smile upon seeing the enthusiasm on your friends' faces when Gen spoke up, drawing your attention to him again along with Senku.

"'I only found a primitive settlement. Senku and (Name) are dead.' That simple false report would spare you."

You clenched your fists at the teen's words but said nothing while Senku simply let out a chuckle. "I'd really appreciate it if you would do that."

"I don't have any policy at all. I'm the world's most shallow man. If I can live happily with cute chicks, that's all I need. Whether you die or Tsukasa dies doesn't matter to me." Gen paused, then the corners of his lips curled into a menacing grin. "I'm going to win, no matter who I have to dispose of. I can't decide if it'll be better for me if I let the Kingdom of Science or the Tsukasa Empire win. That's all I have any interest in."

You frowned at the mentalist's words, not understanding where he was trying to go with this as he continued to explain himself.

"On this side, there's plenty of sweet science stuff and ramen and all that, but the work is hellish. Meanwhile, Tsukasa-chan's empire has no science, and the meals are simple, but the work's easy. And if I revive idols and stuff, I'll be living the dream harem life."

"What's a harem?" A tiny voice piped up from out of nowhere and you glanced down to where Suika had approached the three of you, her watermelon head tilted to the side in curiosity.

Gen looked down at the young girl with a small smile as he answered. "Sorry, children don't need to know yet."

"I think ramen's better for sure." Suika exclaimed.

"Hmm," The bi-colored-haired teen hummed, scratching his cheek as he considered the girl's words. "Ramen's nice, but not on hot days like this. At the end of the day, I'd side with Tsukasa-chan."

"If you're going to side Tsukasa like you are originally, then why do you spout so much nonsense about harem and shit?" You furrowed your brows in confusion, not understanding this guy one bit at all.

The scientist let out a quiet snort beneath his breath when he heard what you said and at that moment, Kohaku spoke up while walking over.

"Asagiri Gen, was it?" She came to a stop in front of said male, her face devoid of emotions when out of a sudden, she whipped out both her daggers and let out a low growl in a threatening voice. "Superficial, selfish men like you are best dead or imprisoned."

"So scary!" Gen cried, holding both hands up in defense as sweat formed on his forehead at the blonde's intimidating grin aimed at him.

Senku, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke up. "No, if we don't let him go back, Tsukasa will come here himself and we'll be screwed."

All heads turned towards the green-haired scientist as he removed his protective gear and faced the group with his trademark smirk filled with confidence. "Relax. Once you see what we make with our beautiful new iron, you'll ten billion percent want to join the Kingdom of Science."

"Oh? What's that?" Gen replied in a sarcastic tone with crossed arms as Senku began to climb up the ladders leading to the science shed, only to pause in his tracks at the mentalist's next few words. "Are you making swords or something?"

Glancing over his shoulders, the scientist replied with a knowing grin. "A generator."

There was a moment of silence before Gen choked out in surprise at the unexpected answer and let out a disbelief cry. "A generator?! Are you for real?! That's totally not happening!"

"Hey, you have native copper," Senku said.

Meanwhile, there was a furrow between your brows as you mumbled to yourself. "A generator? What could Senku want with a generator? To make electricity but there's no lightbulb or output source to channel